ONWARD!

Peeps! I finished the obnoxious cabled sweater! It would be more exciting if I liked the finished product better. It fits and everything, it's just that the sleeves are less fitted than I like, and the neck is a little wider than I was hoping for. And I'm not ripping back. We are moving on from this sweater. Onward, to bigger and better things!

Well, other things, anyway. I've been pretty anxious to start new things, having forced myself to work tirelessly on that effing sweater for so long. I cast on 2 new projects last night, and I started spinning a new braid of fiber, since I haven't spun lately.

This hat is going to be lovely and colorwork-y. I seem to have mixed up the needles, somehow. But that's a relatively small problem, although it might be symptomatic of my lack of focus currently. Did I tell you that I ended up with different length sleeves on that sweater? It was only 2 rows and the mistake was pretty far back, so I just decided to deal with it. And one of the cables was REALLY off. But I couldn't figure out where that mistake was, so I just improvised. No one but me is going to see it, right? Everyone else will be impressed with my knitting prowess.

I also started a laceweight Sand Tracks Cardigan. I think it's going to be very pretty, but I'm also relatively certain it's going to take me FOREVER to finish. Because I'm just that smart. I'm thinking about starting another sweater out of bigger yarn, but I think we all know that's going to be counter-productive. So I'll hold off for now.

My calves hurt today, from the 2 oz of Frabjous Fibers BFL that I spun last night. The singles look lovely so far, though. So it's totally worth the soreness. I have another 2 oz to spin, but that's not gonna happen tonight. I have to go pick up a bridesmaid dress. It's probably not going to happen this weekend, actually, since it's Thanksgiving and I'll be doing family and drinking related things starting tomorrow night. I love Thanksgiving!






Finalmente, I finished cutting the fringe for Mariah's chuppah. I finally took Caitlin's advice and got a piece of cardboard long enough to wrap the right size pieces, so I didn't have to measure them all, or try to work out some other system. It went a lot faster after that. Now I just need to find some time to tie fringe. Again, won't happen this weekend, for the same reasons mentioned above. Freaking holidays. Messing with my crafting plans.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Starting tomorrow, it doesn't count as "alcoholism" or "day drinking" if you constantly have a drink in your hand. It's just the holiday spirit!

Sweater weather

The weather is getting cooler, my friends. Cool enough that I could wear handknit sweaters, if it weren't for the fact that a) I'm on medication that makes my skin super sensitive and the sweaters I knit last year kind of itch and b) I still don't have any sleeves for the new sweater.

It's really a shame that I don't have any sleeves. I totally would have worn that sweater today, if it were done. But I've been intimidated by the need to blend 2 dye lots. Caitlin finally took charge and ripped the sleeves back to the ribbing and rethreaded them on to the needles. I just re-started them last night. There's going to be lots of untangling, I can already tell.

Let's not focus on the negative, though. Let's focus on the fact that I'm on a roll when it comes to finishing right now!

I finished knitting Mariah's chuppah. I had to go out and purchase more foam floor mats so that I had enough to block the thing, but now it's all stretched out and nearly dry. Next step, fringe. Again, not dwelling on the negative.

Then, I finished Abby's long socks. I have a shorter pair that still need doing, but they're pretty, right? The cable is seriously cute. I just hope they fit her, and that she likes them, and that they aren't too itchy... but they're done! Really done, not waiting for anything else.

Pretty good, right? Let's hope those positive feelings carry over to the sleeves. I really want a new sweater, and I ordered a bunch more kits in the mail... Cute hats and mitts or mittens. They're fun colors too, as opposed to navy blue that has to be blended. But they are not sweaters, and I think we can all agree that it is definitely sweater weather right now.

On your marks...

You know what tomorrow is? The Prologue for the Tour de France.

You know what that means? I need to come up with a Tour de Fleece goal. Other than "spin a bunch of the stash so you look like less of a hoarder." I mean, that's a good goal, but it would be good to be a bit more specific, right?

I've not been getting much done lately. I spun a few things.

Like the Oatmeal BFL-Tussah Silk from Frabjous Fibers that I purchased at Wool Market. Ohmygod it's luscious. I mean it. The fiber is lovely, the color is lovely, it was a joy to spin. Holy cow. I'm pretty addicted. I wish I'd bought more of the stuff.

Then there's the angora-wool blend that I bought from Woodlake Woolies last year at Wool Market. It's pretty, and soft, and a little bit sparkly. But not all that exciting. Thank goodness there wasn't all that much of it. Now what do I do with it?

More exciting, there is some bamboo something or other. Again from wool market. From Your Daily Fiber (I think). It doesn't have a tag on it. But it's lovely to spin. Like spinning clouds. And it's shiny, and soft, and I lurve it. Good thing, cuz there's a lot of it. I still need to spin 3/4 of a braid. Yeah man.





I have been knitting a little bit too. I got the yarn in for Mariah's chuppah, so I've been working on that. It's nice that the yarn is chunky, and goes quickly. The pattern is easy to figure out, and I think that she and her fiance are really gonna cherish it, so I'm pretty enthused about that. Except that it's gonna get huge and wooly, and it's roasting this summer.

I've been trying to finish my highland triangle shawl, but that's kind of slow going. It's pretty, but there are lots of stitches and the pattern is a little bit boring.

And then, I've been suckered in to knitting my 4th clapotis. That pattern is like a disease. There's a reason we call it "the clap." The worst part? Only 2 of my 4 were knit for me or someone I know. Caitlin's grandma wants one, though, and Caitlin doesn't really want to knit another one. So I volunteered. Cuz I'm a good friend like that.

And amongst all this stuff, I still need TdF goals... I'll think on those. And hopefully let you know tomorrow what I decide. We shall see.

It's pretty!

My mother has noticed a) the amount of spinning I have undertaken lately and b) the amount of fiber that has been arriving at the house... She asked me "Do you have a purpose for all this stuff?" and I told her "It's pretty!"

She asked "But what are you going to do with it?" and I said "It's pretty!"

She gave up asking.

Don't you thin it's pretty? It so is. And I actually planned ahead while spinning it! Split it into 3 equal-ish sized chunks, 3-plied the final product. Very exciting, very pretty, and it's probably the most consistent product I've made myself. So yes, it's pretty. Pretty awesome, that is! It's Rue, on merino 64, from Storied Yarns.

In complete contrast, I also dredged up an art batt that I purchased (also from Storied Yarns) last fall. I think it was fall, anyway. Probably. I get confused.
Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater, on a variety of fibers. Only 2.8 ounces, so in less than an hour, I had some singles, and then I let it rest for a few hours (I know, you're supposed to wait overnight... whatever. I'm impatient), and voila!

Pretty! If not terribly practical. I'm not sure what it's gonna be, other than decoration, like the other art yarn I spun. Whatever, sometimes you just need to not care about drafting or even-ness, or... well, anything. It's nice to just let it all go.





And for my final stunt, the first test skein for Mariah's chuppah. The yarn arrived in the mail yesterday (2 skeins of different yarn, so she can decide what she wants), and I cast them on, and now I'm out of the first skein.

I'm going to throw that bad boy on a life line and block it, just to see what it looks like all stretched out, and whether the color ends up being any different, and then I'm gonna drape it over something chuppah-like, so I can figure out if it grows, and then I can help Mariah decide which one of these yarns to use. Tomorrow, perhaps I can finish the other one?

We shall see.